Canes Recall Zykov, Checkers Recall Booth

Valentin Zykov is headed to the NHL as the Carolina Hurricanes have recalled the forward from Charlotte.

This marks Zykov’s first NHL recall of the season. The Russian forward appeared in two games for the Hurricanes last season, picking up his first NHL goal in the process.

Zykov has been a lethal offensive presence for Charlotte this season. This past weekend the 22-year-old, who leads the league in goals, became the first Russian-born 30-goal scorer in the AHL since 2008-09 and currently sits at 48 points (30g, 18a) in 57 games this season.

Additionally, the Checkers have recalled goalie Callum Booth from the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. Jeremy Smith, who started last night’s contest, exited the game in the second period with an injury. After the game head coach Mike Vellucci referred to Smith as “day-to-day”.
Booth spent one previous stint with the Checkers earlier this season, a pre-determined time for the netminder to come work with Charlotte’s goalie coach. The rookie, who has logged a 16-6-1 record with a 2.46 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage with the Everblades this season, appeared in two games for the Checkers, once in relief and once as a starter, stopping 24 of the 27 shots he was faced with.

The Checkers return to action Tuesday for a two-game set against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before hosting a weekend series with the Binghamton Devils, while the Hurricanes play home and road back-to-backs on Monday and Tuesday as well as Saturday and Sunday.